asked to stand down by the St. Louis County Police Department
Since they were only asked and not told to stand down they should have politely declined.
Agreed. They don’t “walk the walk” but sure do spew a lot of BS.
Some of the stores have apartments above them. When Molotov cocktails were thrown onto the roof, they put out the fire with the fire extinguisher and dumped a bucket of water on the area to cool it off.
Deadly force can only be used to protect life, but this includes arson, if the building has people in it that could be harmed or killed.
The business owners welcomed them. There is no legal justification for ordering someone off private property when they have the owner's permission. Claim that they need a license is bogus too. They are not being paid. They helped the businesses board up, and are keeping watch at night.
Someone did come up to them and called them the KKK. The person they were accused was a Native American/Filipino. He took off his ski mask and said really do I look like someone the KKK would let into their midst?
Kinda seems like the police might have had some complaints from a certain segment of the community, but it wasn't the business owners, who want them to stay.